Packing box



June 8, 1943. H. c. BOHNKE PACKING BOX Filed May 24, 1941 lllllll I Patented June 8, 1943 PACKING BOX Herman C. Bohnke, Carnegie, Pa., assignor to Superior Paper Products Company, Grafton, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application May 24, 1941, Serial No. 395,042

4 Claims.

.This invention relates to packing boxes and more particularly to boxes for packing and shipping water heaters and the like.

It has been the customary practice to ship water heaters, especially those of the storage tank type, in Wooden crates that have to be built up around each heater, thus requiring considerable time and labor. Such heaters generally have legs at their lower ends and projecting nipples at their upper ends for connection to the water pipes of a hot water system. To hold the heaters in position in the crates braces are made to engage their legs and projecting pipe connections, so if a crate is tipped over accidentally the legs and pipe connections are likely to be bent or broken off by the weight or force exerted laterally on them. For the same reason the crates must not be laid on their sides. Being open, the crates do not protect the heaters very well and therefore builders find it advisable to store the crated heaters in a protected location until a house or building under construction is ready for their installation. Therefore, where buildings or large housing projects using many heaters are involved it requires considerable storage space elsewhere for the heaters while construction is progressing. Also, wooden crates are relatively heavy and must be handled with care, and they are not strong enough to allow two crates to be set on top of each other as is often desirable in a freight car.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a packing box for water heaters and the like which is light in Weight, which completely encloses a water heater, which can be quickly applied to the heater, which is strong enough to support another box with a heater in it, which can be stored or shipped on its side without damaging the heater, and which does not permit the legs or pipe connections of the heater to be injured in case the box is tipped over.

In accordance with this invention a container is provided which preferably is in the form of a carton made from paper-board. Resting on the bottom of the carton is a filler member, preferably also of paper-board, which engages and supports the body of the heater and is provided with vertical openings into which the heater legs extend. The filler member is thick enough to take the entire weight of the heater by spacing the legs from the bottom of the carton. The top of the filler member may be provided with a recess for receiving the bottom of the heater so that it will be held against lateral movement in the carton. At the top of the heater there is another filler member which is also provided with a heater-receiving recess that positions the top of the heater in the carton. This filler member is provided with an opening through which the pipe connections at the top of the heater extend. Resting on top of this filler member is a protective member provided with openings for receiving the pipe connections. The body of the heater is thus supported at top and bottom of the carton by filler members which space the heater from the ends and side walls of the carton.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in section, of my packing box with a water heater packed therein; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the box taken from the rear of the heater; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the box taken on the line III-III of Fig. 1 but showing the heater in plan; Fig. 4 is a reduced vertical section through the upper filler member as it would be viewed in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lower filler member; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the protective pad at the top of the heater; and Fig. 7 is a fragmentary enlarged section through the paper-board from which the box preferably is made. 7

Referring to the drawings, a carton l which is rectangular in vertical and horizontal sections is formed preferably from corrugated paperboard of the general type shown in Fig. '7. This carton is slightly tallerthan the water heater 2 that is packed therein and is also wider than the heater so that all parts of the heater can be spaced from the side walls of the carton. Resting on the bottom of the carton is a rectangular filler member block 3 preferably formed by gluing a number of sheets of corrugated paper-board on top of each other. The upper surface of this filler block is provided with a circular recess 4 (Fig. 5) adapted to receive the bottom of the heater by which is meant the body of the heater as distinguished from its legs. This recess is so positioned relative to the sides of the filler block that it spaces the heater as a whole from the side walls of the carton. Due to the burner connections 6 at the front of the heater, recess 4 is located off center of the filler block. To accommodate the legs 1 of the heater the filler block is also provided with vertical openings 8, but the block is thick enough to prevent the legs from touching the bottom of the carton. Therefore the entire weight of the heater is supported by the filler block on which the body of the heater rests. To decrease the weight of the block 3 its central portion may be cut out and discarded, as shown at 9 in Figs. 1 and 5.

In the upper end of the carton there is another filler member II also preferably made of sheets of corrugated paper-board glued together, but this filler member does not need to be as thick as the one at the bottom. The lower surface of the top filler member is provided with a circular reoess 12 (Fig. 4) for snugly receiving the top of the heater to space it from the side walls of the carton. The top wall of this recess is provided with a central opening l3 through which the hot and cold water pipe connections or nipples l4 extend from the top of the tank. To protect these connections a protective: pad it rests on top of the filler member and is provided with openings I? (Fig. 6) that receive the nipples. This pad may be formed from the disc that is cut in making the circular heater-receiving re-' cesses in either of the filler members. To hold a the top filler member ll down on the heater its upper sheet of paper-board originally extends laterally beyond two opposite sides of the member to form flaps I8, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 4, that are creased so that the flaps can be bent upwardly and then inwardly across protective pad I 6, as shown in full lines in Fig. 4. These flaps engage the top of the carton as shown in Fig. 1.

In packing a water heater in this box the bot- 3 tom filler block 3 is dropped into the carton through its top which is open at that time. The water heater is then lowered into the carton until it comes to rest on the filler block. The top filler member I l is then inserted in the carton over the upper end of the heater. At this time the side flaps l8 of the top filler member extend more or less straight up out of the carton so that the protective pad It can be placed on the top filler member with the pipe connections 14 projecting up into the holes I! therein. The side flaps 13 of the top filler member are then bent down into the carton across the protective pad, following which the top flaps of the carton are likewise bent down and sealed together to form the top of the finished box.

It will be seen that as the heater is supported solely by its body so that its legs and pipe connections carry no weight and are adequately protected, there is little'chance oftheir being damaged if the carton is tipped over. Likewise, these boxes can be safely stacked on end or on their sides without damaging their contents. It takes only a few moments to pack a heater in this box in which it is so fully protected that the boxed heater can be safely stored in a building under construction long before it is time to install the heater. The fact that more heaters boxed in this manner can be packed in a freight car than heretofore reduces freight charges per heater from fifteen to twenty-five per cent. In many cases the boxes are lighter in weight than the wooden crates, thus effecting a further saving.

' According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and construction of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A packing box for a water heater and the like having legs at its bottom and a projecting pipe connection at its top, said box comprising a paper-board carton, a filler member in the bottom of the carton for engaging and supporting said heater and provided with vertical openings for receiving said legs, a filler member in the top of the carton for engaging the top of the heater and spacing it from the carton, said top filler member being provided with an opening for receiving said pipe connection, and a protective member disposed between the top filler member and the top of the carton and provided with an opening for receiving said pipe connection.

2. A packing box for a Water heater and the like having legs at its bottom and a projecting ipipe connection at its top, said box comprising a paper-board carton, a filler member in the bottom of the carton provided in its upper surface with a recess for receiving and positioning the bottom of said heater and provided with vertical openings for receiving said legs, a filler member in the top of the carton provided in its lower surface with a recess for receiving the top of the heater, said top filler member spacing the heater from the carton and being provided with an opening through which said pipe connection may extend, and a protective member of substantially the same size as one of said recesses disposed between said top filler member and the top of the carton and provided with an opening for receiving said pipe connection.

3. A packing box for a water heater and the like having legs at its bottom and a projecting pipe connection at its top, said box comprising a paper-board carton, a filler member in the bottom of the carton for engaging and supporting said heater and provided with vertical openings for receiving said legs, a paper-board filler member in the top of the carton provided in its lower surface with a recess for receiving the top of the heater and also provided with an opening through which said pipe connection may extend, a protective member resting on top of said top filler member and provided with an opening for receiving said pipe connection, and a paper-board flap disposed between said protectivemember and the top of the carton and integrally connected to one edge of said top filler member.

4. A packing box for a cylindrical water heater having legs at its bottom and laterally projecting burner connections, said box comprising a paperboard carton, a filler member in the bottom of the carton provided in its upper surface with a recess for receiving the bottom of the heater, said recess being disposed nearer one side of the carton than the opposite sidewhereby to provide at said opposite side room for said burner connections, said filler member being provided with vertical openings for receivingsaid legs and for holding the heater against turning in said recess, and a filler member in the top of the carton provided in its lower surface with a recess for receiving and positioning the top of the heater, said top filler member spacing the heater from the carton.

HERMAN C. BOHN-ICEL- 

